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Towards a Methodology for Developing Evidence-Informed Management Knowledge by Means of Systematic Review
British Journal of Management
Abstract
Undertaking a review of the literature is an important part of any research project. The researcher both maps and assesses the relevant intellectual territory in order to specify a research question which will further develop the knowledge base. However, traditional 'narrative' reviews frequently lack thoroughness, and in many cases are not undertaken as genuine pieces of investigatory science. Consequently they can lack a means for making sense of what the collection of studies is saying. These reviews can be biased by the researcher and often lack rigour. Furthermore, the use of reviews of the available evidence to provide insights and guidance for intervention into operational needs of practitioners and policymakers has largely been of secondary importance. For practitioners, making sense of a mass of often-contradictory evidence has become progressively harder. The quality of evidence underpinning decision-making and action has been questioned, for inadequate or incomplete evidence seriously impedes policy formulation and implementation. In exploring ways in which evidence-informed management reviews might be achieved, the authors evaluate the process of systematic review used in the medical sciences. Over the last fifteen years, medical science has attempted to improve the review process by synthesizing research in a systematic, transparent, and reproducible manner with the twin aims of enhancing the knowledge base and informing policymaking and practice. This paper evaluates the extent to which the process of systematic review can be applied to the management field in order to produce a reliable knowledge stock and enhanced practice by developing context-sensitive research. The paper highlights the challenges in developing an appropriate methodology.
... This study employed a structured literature review to synthesize current knowledge on how digitalization influences the global competitiveness of exported services. The review followed methodological guidance established in evidence-based management research, emphasizing transparency and replicability in the selection and analysis of sources [14], [15]. Searches were conducted across Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar for peerreviewed articles published between January 2015 and March 2024. ...
... Thematic synthesis was applied to group recurring insights into four major domains: digital infrastructure, firm capabilities, regulatory environments, and structural barriers. This framework provides the analytical foundation for the results and discussion sections that follow [14], [16]. ...
As global trade increasingly shifts toward services, many countries struggle to remain competitive in digitally driven markets due to infrastructural gaps, regulatory fragmentation, and firm-level disparities. This literature review investigates how digitalization reshapes the global competitiveness of exported services. Based on 58 peer-reviewed studies published between 2015 and 2024, the analysis identifies four recurring themes: digital infrastructure, firm-level digital capabilities, regulatory and institutional environments, and structural barriers. Findings show that while digitalization facilitates service scalability, market access, and innovation, competitiveness remains uneven and contingent on a country’s or firm’s ability to align digital assets with institutional coherence and strategic readiness. The review highlights that to enhance digital service competitiveness, governments must prioritize inclusive infrastructure investment, support SMEs in acquiring digital capabilities, harmonize cross-border digital regulations, and mitigate risks tied to platform dependency and cybersecurity. These implications point to the need for coordinated policy responses and long-term strategies that build digital resilience and equitable participation in global service trade.
... To address these questions, we adopt an integrated literature review (ILR) as research methodology . This approach includes the principles and guidelines of both systematic and integrative literature reviews (Klang et al. 2014;Littell et al. 2008;Marzi et al. 2025;Torraco 2016;Tranfield et al. 2003). Its main advantage concerns the efficacy to assess, critique, and synthesize the literature on a research topic in a way that enables new theoretical frameworks to emerge (Torraco 2016;Snyder 2019). ...
... This study adopts an ILR approach as a research methodology to address the research questions. The term "integrated review" refers to the shared use of both systematic and integrative literature review principles and structures (Klang et al. 2014;Littell et al. 2008;Torraco 2016;Tranfield et al. 2003). The approach shares with systematic literature review its protocol to ensure transparency, inclusiveness, and objectivity, minimizing bias and error (Colicchia and Strozzi 2012). ...
The transition towards a circular economy requires companies to innovate their ways of doing business by giving rise to circular business models (CBMs). The literature on the topic is wide with a focus on both macro and micro aspects. However, only a few studies in CBM research have attempted to adopt an integrated micro-macro perspective, thus limiting the overall understanding of how effectively designing and implementing CBMs in organizations. This paper addresses this issue by providing an integrated framework of CBM studies, including both macro and micro factors and bridging mechanisms. The findings aim to provide a more comprehensive knowledge of CBM design and implementation and guide future academic inquiry into unex-plored areas.
... Compared to other review approaches, systematic reviews aim to engage with a defined research objective and synthesize the analyzed literature (Munn et al., 2018). The review process involves several steps, including planning or designing the process, collecting data (i.e., conducting the search), analyzing, and disseminating (Snyder, 2019;Tranfield et al., 2003). Figure 1 illustrates the review process. ...
... To collect the data, we followed the guidelines for systematically identifying and selecting literature (Tranfield et al., 2003). The conceptual boundaries between entrepreneurial ecosystems and sustainability form the foundation for developing suitable keywords. ...
Research on entrepreneurial ecosystems for sustainability (EEfS) is rapidly growing. However, research lacks integrative efforts and is marked by considerable theoretical diversity, potentially impeding further development. This study synthesized EEfS research to advance the theory and establish a research agenda, by conducting a theory-driven systematic literature review which builds on agencement theory. This study makes two important contributions. First, it integrates the literature and identifies three crucial themes: value, transformation, and boundaries. Second, it uses agencement theory to rethink the identified themes. Thus, it complements and extends current EEfS research and provides novel theoretical contributions. Moreover, this study provides a conceptual model of EEfS, derives a research agenda, and offers practical implications.
... Para seleccionar la literatura que orientó la investigación, se consultaron artículos en inglés, castellano y portugués, publicados en revistas que están incluidas en los repositorios Scopus y Web of Science, que indexan más de 15 mil revistas científicas internacionales, difundiendo la mayoría producciones científicas internacionales relevantes (Bakkalbasi;Bauer;Glover;Wang, 2006). El marco teórico fue elaborado a partir de producciones científicas que tienen relevancia y calidad, que puedan contribuir a la comprensión del tema en estudio (Tranfield, Denyer & Smart, 2003). La literatura que se presenta a continuación fue obtenida a través de un riguroso levantamiento bibliográfico, lo que constituye un marco suficiente y adecuado para sustentar el estudio realizado. ...
El reclutamiento y la selección de los policías se han convertido en temas de importancia crítica para las organizaciones policiales. Se necesita un proceso de selección validado para identificar y contratar a los candidatos más adecuados para el trabajo policial. En este contexto, la presente investigación tuvo como objetivo examinar la selección de la Policía Federal de Brasil, identificando factores de éxito en el proceso de selección. La investigación se llevó a cabo a través de investigación documental y estudio cuantitativo. Se analizarán datos de la oposición para ingreso al cargo de “Delegado” hecha en 2018. Fueron realizados análisis descriptivos y regresión lineal. Se identificaron variables personales y socioeconómicas que son factores positivos y negativos para el éxito en la selección. El estudio puede ayudar a las organizaciones policiales a planificar y perfeccionar sus procesos de selección, de acuerdo con los candidatos a los que desea dirigirse y seleccionar.
... This research employs a systematic literature review (SLR) as its research methodology to retrieve, screen, and analyze articles related to the CE in agriculture, aiming to discuss the trends and applications of CE in agriculture. Tranfield et al. (2003) divided the systematic review process into three stages: planning the review, conducting the review, and reporting and disseminating the results. Later, an eight-step framework was proposed by Higgins and Green (2008), which outlined the beginning of SLR. ...
The agricultural sector consumes energy in various forms while simultaneously generating agricultural waste and wastewater, and remaining a major contributor to carbon emissions. In line with the 3R principles—Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle—circular economy (CE) in agriculture has emerged as a key pathway toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This study investigates the recent developments, applications, and challenges associated with CE in agriculture through a systematic literature review (SLR). A total of 74 high‐impact articles were selected from 388 screened publications based on relevance, citation impact, and journal quality. Descriptive and content analyses were applied to identify key research themes—namely anaerobic digestion, biomass, and sustainability—along with regional disparities, application areas, and methodological approaches. The findings reveal a wide range of technical innovations across agricultural sectors, complemented by managerial and economic solutions. In addition, the review outlines major challenges and research gaps in the field. The study offers a comprehensive synthesis of CE practices in agriculture and provides a valuable reference for future research and implementation.
... Such procedures help minimize potential biases in the review process (e.g., selection bias, publication bias) and allow researchers to draw reliable conclusions that provide convincing evidence for the research questions concerned (Moher et al., 2009). By reviewing previously published works, potential research gaps can be illustrated and the threshold of knowledge can also be highlighted (Tranfield et al., 2003). These methods can help provide researchers with an in-depth understanding of the research characteristics of relevant literature. ...
With the development of teacher education, teacher agency has garnered more attention as a vital factor to achieve teachers’ sustainable development in recent years. Based on Biblioshiny, this study attempts to quantify and map 753 articles on teacher agency collected in WOS Core Collection from 2003 to 2024. Specifically, annual scientific production, the contributions of sources, authors, countries and affiliations have been presented. Besides, research relationships and keywords on this topic have also been identified and analyzed to review the progress of this research field. Moreover, it is predicted that more subtopics will appear and teachers’ digital competency related to their agency will particularly be a research frontier in the future.
... Se realizó una revisión sistemática de literatura que permitió consolidar las dinámicas estratégicas, con base en autores como Tranfield et al. (2003), Kitchenham y Charters (2007) y Velásquez (2015). Se seleccionó la base de datos Scopus debido a su reconocimiento en el ámbito académico y su rigurosidad en la indexación de literatura revisada por pares. ...
This research presents thirty strategic dynamics for scaling social impact in business, derived from a systematic literature review. These dynamics were obtained through the identification of ten main strategies and three dimensions or types of scalability. The study concludes that scalability strategies cannot be exclusively characterized within a single dimension but can be linked to the three types of scalability to achieve strategic dynamics, meaning strategies whose implementation varies according to the established objective. The theoretical contribution of the study lies in the integration of scalability strategies and dimensions of social impact, providing a conceptual framework that expands the understanding of the phenomenon. From a practical perspective, the findings offer strategic guidelines for companies with business models oriented toward sustainable development, facilitating their ability to scale social impact effectively. Additionally, this research can serve as a reference for the formulation of public policies that promote supportive frameworks for the business sector.
... Segundo Galvão e Ricarte (2019), atualmente, encontramos diversos tipos e formas de realizar uma revisão da literatura. Dentre elas, destacamos a RS por seu potencial, especialmente, por apresentar características de reprodutibilidade e repetibilidade, como aspectos que vão além das revisões tradicionais, consideradas demasiadamente empíricas, obscuras, e/ou inconclusivas, na opinião de alguns pesquisadores (SEGURA--MUÑOZ et al., 2002), métodos que frequentemente carecem de rigor e podem ser tendenciosos (TRANFIELD; DEYER; SMART, 2003). ...
Considerações iniciais Antes de iniciar uma pesquisa, o estudante busca informar-se sobre o objeto de estudo de interesse e para isso recorre à literatura especializada como fonte de dados sobre o objeto de estudo. Essa tarefa é comumente denominada de revisão, cujos processos incluem a busca, análise e des-crição de um determinado corpo do conhecimento. Entre os diferentes tipos de revisão, destacamos, neste capítulo, a revisão bibliográfica sistemática (doravante RS). O processo de RS envolve a busca, recuperação, seleção criteriosa, análise crítica, avaliação metodológica da qualidade das evidências cien-tíficas e síntese dos estudos relevantes, permitindo evitar possíveis vieses na seleção de artigos e nas análises. Por meio do uso dessas estratégias científicas, possibilita-se a incorporação de "[...] um espectro maior de resultados relevantes, ao invés de limitar as nossas conclusões à leitura de somente alguns artigos" (SAMPAIO; MANCINI, 2007, p.84).
... Methods were combined from the PRISMA framework [11,12] with systematic review techniques well-established in management research [13]. The Web of Science Core Collection, Scopus, PsycINFO, and Business Source Complete were utilized because, together, they provide extensive, peer-reviewed coverage of management, psychology, public administration, and organizational studies. ...
This article consolidates the fragmented literature on strategic vision withholding, which refers to the deliberate ambiguity in leadership used to facilitate retrenchment or redirection while minimizing accountability. Following PRISMA guidelines, peer-reviewed articles were retrieved from Web of Science, Scopus, PsycINFO, and Business Source Complete, assessed for methodological rigor, and integrated through inductive thematic synthesis. Empirical findings reveal a repeatable three-stage pattern: (1) rhetorical retreat characterized by increasingly diminished future-oriented language, (2) covert resource withdrawal and budgetary drift, and (3) performance prophecy, where deteriorating metrics legitimize further cutbacks and eventual dissolution. Across corporate, public, higher education, and nonprofit sectors, strategic neglect reliably predicts operational decline, breaches of psychological contracts, loss of legitimacy, and stagnation of innovation. However, the magnitude of impact varies according to initiative climate, psychological safety, board independence, transparency regimes, and media salience. Five leading indicators, including textual shifts, budget incongruities, erratic performance variance, boundary-spanner turnover, and negative external sentiment, surface up to three years before formal retrenchment. The current investigation integrates sensemaking, blame avoidance, and disproportionate policy perspectives, reframing vision withholding as an active strategic choice rather than a communicative failure. The synthesis clarifies antecedent conditions, including diminishing slack, politicized accountability, and leadership loss aversion. It explains mediating pathways from opacity to decline through sense-making deficits, resource starvation, and escalating distrust. Future research gaps encompass longitudinal text analytics, cross-level experiments, and intervention designs aimed at restoring strategic clarity. Findings provide boards, regulators, and change leaders with an evidence-based diagnostic tool for early detection and preemptive action of strategic neglect, enriching critical scholarship on organizational change and strategy.
... Evidence-based techniques are required for policy suggestions. According to Tranfield et al. (2003), systematic reviews aid in the development of evidence-based management expertise. Systematic reviews that are replicable and transparent synthesize literature while minimizing bias. ...
Energy Transition (ET) is a global shift from fossil fuels to non-carbon, predominantly
renewable energy sources that increases energy equity and access and reduces energy poverty, allowing SDG 7. This study examines ET barriers in Kenya and their implications for SubSaharan Africa (SSA), and suggests ways to help Kenya meet global ET targets such as the Paris Agreement. A hybrid methodology that combined secondary data acquisition and thematic case study analysis which assesses secondary data against the research questions within a complex system dynamics framework, aimed at understanding the barriers to non-carbon renewable energy adoption in Kenya and Sub-Saharan Africa. Kenya aims to generate 100% of its power and 80% of its primary energy from non-carbon renewable sources by 2030. Kenya's unique geolocation and natural resources position it to be a world leader in ET and sustainability. Assessing ET barriers is crucial for Kenya to meet its ET targets. The ET barriers highlighted in the findings of this study include fiscal constraints, infrastructure obstacles, policy implementation issues, rising energy costs, societal disparities, opposition to alternative cooking technology, diminishing ET investments. In addition, public preferences, ET implementation, ET regulations, financial innovation are ET impediments. Supply chain interruptions from the
Russia-Ukraine conflict have aggravated the SSA energy situation, making ET more urgent. In addition, oil producing SSA countries and Kenya's newly discovered oil sources are likely to be capitalised while meeting Paris Targets. Consequently, Kenya's ET trajectory is likely to differ from the global norm. The study recommends behavioral and policy changes, increase in infrastructure and technology investments, integrated energy frameworks, and cost and tariff modifications to accelerate ET towards sustainable ET in Kenya and SSA.
... In this review, the authors used the technique to examine , sum up, and highlight essential issues, and this included selecting the best data base and research publications from various time periods (Tranfield, Denyer, & Smart, 2003). ...
Attention of marketers and advertisers towards online ad avoidance has increased significantly in recent years due to the clutter of online ad and consumer irritation caused by excessive online ads. Online ad clutter and irritation have a detrimental impact on internet user behaviour and has led to negative attitudes regarding online ads. The Scopus database was used to conduct a comprehensive review of 138 studies on online ad clutter and irritation and their impact on online ad avoidance behaviour over the past eight years. There is a significant relationship between online ad clutter, internet user irritation and online ad avoidance behaviour. Online ads can potentially cause avoidance behaviour if there are too many of them. Also in conclusion, this review paper extends the literature on online ad clutter, irritation and avoidance behaviour.
... Stages of Bibliometric Analysis according to Tranfield et al. (2003) Once the data is collected, the analysis is carried out using various bibliometric indicators to evaluate publication trends, citation patterns, and collaboration networks in these areas (Abdi et al., 2024;Erdyneeva et al., 2024). This analysis includes aspects such as the number of publications per year, types of publications, publication languages, citation analysis per year, collaboration between countries, and co-citation analysis (Erdyneeva et al., 2024;Wang et al., 2025) . ...
Purpose-This literature review aims to explore the integration of local wisdom into digital learning to enhance educational relevance and effectiveness. Research Methodology/Design/Approach-Using bibliometric analysis with VOSviewer, the study maps key research themes, connections, and trends within this emerging field. The approach focuses on analyzing patterns in keywords related to students, teachers, digital tools, and learning models informed by local cultural knowledge. Finding-Findings reveal that integrating local wisdom enriches digital learning by fostering culturally responsive pedagogy that supports student identity and character development. Innovative media such as digital comics are highlighted as effective tools in this context. Originality / Value-The review also identifies growing research interest, particularly from Indonesia, emphasizing the importance of adaptive, data-driven learning models based on local contexts. The study provides valuable insights for educators and policymakers seeking to develop inclusive and relevant digital learning frameworks grounded in local knowledge.
... From a methodological perspective, a systematic literature review is employed to provide a comprehensive analysis of a research field through explicit, rigorous, and transparent procedures (Cooper, 2010), allowing for easy replication of evaluations (Tranfield et al., 2003). Webster & Watson (2002), emphasize that a literature review not only examines past research but also outlines directions for future studies. ...
Corruption and efforts to reduce it through the implementation of good governance have emerged as prominent topics in recent years. However, there are still diverse yet unorganized viewpoints on the concept of defining and measuring corruption. Particularly, the concept of corruption in government necessitates a more comprehensive synthesis to provide a structured overview of the existing literature and pinpoint opportunities for further advancement in this field of study. Nonetheless, previous research has made efforts in making observations to guide future research in a holistic manner. To address this issue, a systematic literature review (SLR) of 44 articles addressing good governance, including transparency, accountability, participation, and their relationship with corruption, provided a comprehensive overview synthesizing current knowledge in this domain. Specifically, it reviews the state of knowledge of the reviewed literature, identifies potential research areas, and provides recommendations to broaden avenues for future research.
... To achieve the objectives of the research, a systematic and comparative analysis of the literature was conducted by selecting the research studies focused on Green Marketing using the archival method (Tranfield et al., 2003). The archival method was employed to collect data, enabling the research structure and creating a credible knowledge base on Green Marketing. ...
Consumers' concern regarding sustainability and their high
preference for environmentally friendly products has prompted
companies to follow and integrate green marketing into their
CSR strategies. The study aimed to perform theoretical studies
on how green marketing is implemented as an initiative to fulfill
corporate social responsibility (CSR), assess the strategy
implemented by selected private sectorial companies in Sri
Lanka, and develop a conceptual framework to apply green
marketing strategies. Using the archival method enabled the
researcher to build a conceptual framework based on the
knowledge gained via the literature review. Content analysis
was used to determine green marketing practices from selected
private sectorial companies in Sri Lanka. A literature survey
revealed that green product development, internal processes,
and green philanthropy are prioritized as green marketing
strategies to achieve green CSR. This article highlights the
significance of prioritization of green CSR over philanthropic
CSR, and further studies can be conducted on the impact of
green CSR on a company's performance.
... As a method, an SLR was adopted, which is based on the formation of a database of selected articles that meet the inclusion and exclusion criteria (Pollock and Berge, 2018). SLRs consider a diligent methodological process to reduce errors and biases (Transfield et al., 2003). The Pollock and Berge's (2018) protocol was adopted, which stipulates four steps and a set of activities to form a knowledge base for analysis. ...
The project’s success has been discussed and evaluated for a long time, however, despite these efforts there is still no consensus regarding its definition. In this context, this article aims to identify how critical factors and success criteria can be managed within different project contexts. To this end, a qualitative approach was adopted based on a systematic literature review. The databases used were Web of Science and Scopus. After collecting and processing data, 135 articles were considered to carry out for a deep analysis. As a cut-off criterion, only quantitative studies were considered, published in specialised project management journals, which used a project success scale.
From this perspective, it was possible to group factors and criteria that influence success in projects for different organisations. As a main result, this article classifies the criteria and success factors identified by context and type of project. As a contribution, the findings allow a better understanding of how to improve success in a project, taking account the context.
... Undertaking a systematic literature review serves as a robust mechanism for advancing theoretical, practical, and methodological understanding within a given subject domain (Kunisch et al., 2023). Previous studies indicate that systematic literature reviews provide the most efficient means of identifying and evaluating extensive bodies of literature (Fisch & Block, 2018;Snyder, 2019;Tranfield et al., 2003). This methodology is applied extensively across various fields of business, management, and entrepreneurship research (e.g., Ghio et al., 2015;Karlsson & Hammarfelt, 2019;Khlystova et al., 2022aKhlystova et al., , 2022bMorris et al., 2024;Urbano & Aparacio, 2019). ...
Exploring innovation strategies within the knowledge spillover theory is key to understanding how knowledge generated in one context can unintentionally flow or "spill over" into other contexts, leading to new insights, ideas, and innovations. Resource-rich countries face unique challenges and opportunities when applying this theory, which primarily focuses on the influence of external factors on entrepreneurial behaviour and the innovation process. While abundant natural resources can provide a strong economic base, they also pose the risk of a resource curse, where overreliance on resource extraction hampers diversification and innovation in other sectors. This study aims to unravel how and why the knowledge spillover theory can facilitate regional economic development and growth in resource-rich countries. We do so by performing a systematic literature review of relevant peer-reviewed articles published between 1996 and 2024 and discussing the mechanisms and conduits of knowledge spillover in countries rich in natural resources.
... Source: Elaborated by the authors Due to the amplitude of the themes, we refined the results by the research protocol with the objective of evaluating whether the selected studies really are important for the analysis. The research protocol of Tranfield, Denyer, & Smart (2003) was used. These authors demonstrate that the conduct of systematic review runs through three major stages: planning the review, conducting the review, and reporting and dissemination. ...
This paper aims to analyze the results of the research in pyramidal ownership within the scope of the business groups. Next, the research gaps in the business groups and pyramidal ownership will be identified. The research was conducted on two large-scale journals databases (Web of Science and Scopus), using VOSviewer, HistCite™, and Iramuteq software. The textual corpus is consisting of 65 articles and 137 authors and co-authors. Results report that important authors, such as Bae et al. and Almeida and Wolfenzon were among the most cited and with greater relational ties. We infer that searches in pyramidal structures are contained in the field of business groups since they represent of ownership and control. The analysis of the studies scope identifies that a large number of proposals are concentrated in the family-owned. We identify as a theoretical gap the analysis of the political connections and the social role. The interaction between the groups and the government has received a lot of attention in recent decades, exposing the hypothesis that business groups are formed with government support, expanding, and diversifying along with the government.
... This study has several limitations that must be taken into account. First, the selection of articles was limited to two specific databases-Web of Science and Scopus-which may have excluded relevant studies published in other repositories or in languages other than English and Spanish (Tranfield et al., 2003;Petticrew & Roberts, 2006). This restricted selection, along with the relatively small number of included studies (n = 26), limits the ability to generalize the observed trends globally and aligns with previous critiques regarding the heterogeneity of the science education literature. ...
Physics teaching faces challenges due to students’ limited understanding of fundamental concepts such as force and motion, as well as the restricted pedagogical strategies often employed by instructors and the limited variety of approaches to physical foundations. This difficulty is aggravated by the perception of physics as distant from everyday life and by the traditional approach focused on solving mathematical problems. Despite the importance of Newton’s second law, many students confuse the relationships between mass, force, and acceleration, which highlights the need to innovate in teaching practices toward active learning trends. To explore the state of teaching Newton’s second law, a systematic review of the literature was conducted using the PRISMA methodology, analyzing twenty-six articles from the Web of Science and Scopus databases. This revealed an increase in interest in teaching this law, especially in 2023. However, the limited number of studies (only 26) also indicates that research on this topic remains scarce and underexplored. Most studies focus on primary and secondary school students (43%) and employ quantitative methodologies (38%). Teaching strategies include problem-solving (40%), simulations (27%), practical activities (14%), and group discussions (12%). Furthermore, it was identified that Newton’s law is primarily represented in scalar form, with limited inclusion of vector approaches, which highlights the need to discuss didactic alternatives that consider both approaches.
... After completing the SLR, bibliographic network analysis and visualisation (BNAV) were performed to explore the intellectual structure of the research domain in greater detail. Unlike traditional narrative reviews, this approach emphasises methodological transparency, inclusiveness, clarity of interpretation, and practical insight (Tranfield et al. 2003), all of which contribute to reducing bias and increasing the objectivity of the findings (Clark 2010). The BNAV method was employed to uncover dominant and emerging research trends. ...
This study conducts a systematic literature review to examine the nexus between financial inclusion and sustainable finance, with a particular emphasis on emerging risks in the digital financial ecosystem. Employing the PRISMA methodology and bibliographic network analysis techniques, including citation network analysis and co-occurrence network of keywords, the review synthesises insights from 54 peer-reviewed publications indexed in Scopus. The findings reveal that financial inclusion significantly advances sustainability by enhancing access to financial services for underserved populations and promoting equitable economic participation. Digital innovations such as fintech, blockchain, and artificial intelligence are shown to facilitate this process, yet they concurrently introduce vulnerabilities, including cybercrime, fraud, and regulatory fragmentation. Islamic finance models, characterised by ethical and transparent financial practises, offer promising solutions for inclusive and secure financial systems. Two thematic clusters are identified: one centred on inclusive and ethical finance and the other on digital innovation in green and sustainable finance. The study underscores the need for integrated strategies that balance accessibility, technological advancement, and risk mitigation. Whilst the exclusive use of the Scopus database represents a limitation, this review contributes to a deeper understanding of how secure, inclusive, and sustainable digital financial systems can support global development goals.
... SLRs offer a robust approach to analysing existing research, allowing us to synthesize diverse perspectives and identify areas requiring further investigation (Keele, 2007;Tranfield et al., 2003). This study leverages this strength to provide a comprehensive and future-oriented understanding of green entrepreneurship (Paul & Criado, 2020). ...
Amidst the escalating environmental crisis, green entrepreneurship emerges as a
pivotal force in fostering a sustainable business paradigm. However, there is a
noticeable dearth of studies examining green entrepreneurship as an independent
research domain and with novel frameworks, revealing nuanced future directions.
Employing the SPAR-4 framework, this Systematic Literature Review (SLR) meticulously examines articles sourced from Scopus and Web of Science, ultimately
selecting and scrutinizing 73 articles spanning 2004 to 2024. The primary objective
of this review is to critically analyse existing knowledge on green entrepreneurship,
utilizing the TCCM framework to unfold the literature with different dimensions
and to critically identify the drivers and outcomes of green entrepreneurship (GE)
and future directions. Through a comprehensive analysis encompassing foundational theories, antecedents, driving forces, and methodological frameworks, this
review uncovered emergent areas of inquiry and intricate interconnections within
the field. Key themes and categories representing various drivers and outcomes of
green entrepreneurship are extracted from the selected literature and organized into
broader categories. This nuanced exploration not only synthesizes key insights from
past studies but also highlights potential pathways for future research, contributing
to a deeper understanding of the dynamic and multifaceted nature of green entrepreneurship. With its practical and theoretical contributions, the paper demonstrates the significance of green entrepr neurship. Finally, the paper concludes by identifying and signifying the nine major themes upon which future research questions are developed.
... Specifically, we use a three-stage process in this study. As suggested by Tranfield et al. (2003) and Seuring and Müller (2008), these three steps are: (1) the material collection (the material to be collected is defined clearly); (2) the category selection (general aspects, e.g., publication year, research type, and specific aspects of the material to be assessed are selected); (3) the material evaluation (also called "content coding" and the analysis of the papers selected according to the categories defined in stage 2). ...
Based on a systematic literature review approach, and drawing on the leadership-member exchange and contingency theories, we develop a conceptual model for the purchasing leadership’s effectiveness in the adoption of Procurement 4.0 that simultaneously consider different aspects of purchasing leadership effectiveness which are: the purchasing leadership behaviors, the contextual factors, and the quality of the relationship between the purchasing leaders and their subordinates as well as other members of the organization. In so doing, this study sheds great light on the central role that the purchasing leaders can play in the digitalization of a purchasing function, and offers unique insights on this process, which could provide a fertile ground for future research in this field. Moreover, this study suggests that the purchasing leaders have competencies to build-up the required capacities and capabilities which will support the organizational vision and the digital transformation of the purchasing function.
... This study employs a systematic literature review approach following Tranfield et al. (2003), which is designed to enhance transparency, replicability, and rigour in synthesising existing knowledge. Systematic reviews are distinct from but related to structured literature reviews (Massaro et al., 2016). ...
This systematic literature review examines 59 empirical studies on budgeting published between 2003 and 2023 in high-calibre accounting journals. It identifies three dominant themes: participative budgeting, budgetary slack, and Beyond Budgeting. While participative budgeting and slack studies focus on traditional issues, Beyond Budgeting research addresses practitioners’ concerns more directly. The review highlights significant gaps in linking academic research to real-world challenges, particularly regarding strategic relevance and flexibility. A research agenda is proposed to align future studies with practitioners’ concerns. This review contributes by mapping budgeting research development and critically assessing its practical impact.
... Starting with a qualitative method-more especially, an SLR, the study aims to carefully review previous research on co-creation and AI. Systematic reviews are well known for their rigour in synthesising knowledge, identifying research gaps, and offering a disciplined summary of a topic (Tranfield et al., 2003;Durugbo, 2020;AlEssa & Durugbo, 2022). The SLR approach was used to guarantee openness, repeatability, and a complete knowledge of the present situation of research. ...
It is acknowledged that advancing artificial intelligence (AI) depends highly on co-creation. Co-creation's significance in the context of AI is evident by cooperative efforts such as OpenAI with Microsoft and Anthropic with Amazon. Co-creation positions beneficiaries as active participants in the value chain, enhancing offerings through their involvement. Scanning literature reveals a paucity in reviews on co-creation and AI. This paper presents a systematic literature review (SLR) utilising Scopus to provide theoretical foundations, challenges, and opportunities on co-creation in the context of AI. 174 research papers were analysed quantitatively and qualitatively. The scientometric analysis revealed a peak of publications in 2024, with the highest number of papers published in the Journal of Business Research. The thematic analysis, on the other hand, resulted in categorizing the studies based on their focus, either on co-creation or AI, and their role as either determinant or contingent. This led to the identification of four themes: (a) AI as a co-creation determinant; (b) AI as a co-creation contingency; (c) co-creation for AI determinant; and (d) co-creation as AI contingency. Moreover, the papers were analysed to reveal key challenges and opportunities related to AI in co-creation. The challenges included ethical issues like data privacy and bias, regulatory compliance difficulties, and the need for user trust. On the contrary, AI co-creation holds significant potential in various industries including healthcare and education. It also aids in fostering creativity, enhancing customer experiences, improving decision-making, and supporting sustainability initiatives. Through this review, we offer ideas for innovationists and technologists to construct AI-enabled services connecting theory and practice in this developing subject.
... Each article then underwent an initial screening process based on its title and abstract to assess its relevance to the research objectives. To ensure a rigorous content analysis, we established specific inclusion criteria, as recommended by Tranfield et al. (2003) and Denyer and Tranfield (2009). The criteria used for identifying and selecting papers are summarized in Table 2. Following these two screening stages, the number of relevant articles was narrowed down to 91, which were subsequently included for further analysis. ...
In today’s competitive manufacturing environment, monitoring the factory floor and ensuring production visibility are critical. Factory and Production Planning (FPP) is a structured approach that encompasses both physical infrastructure in factory planning and operational workflows in production planning to ensure a smooth and efficient production system. Optimizing factory layout and synchronized production activities demand virtual, dynamic and real-time representation. Recently, a few studies have explored the concept of Digital Twin for FPP. However, a unified understanding is still missing regarding how this concept can be translated for FPP and the value it can generate. Thus, this article aims to investigate the enablers, challenges, and contributions associated with Digital Twin in FPP aspects. The insights highlight Digital Twin’s potential to enable dynamic planning. To fully leverage its benefits, further research is needed to validate the proposed framework and to develop a Digital Twin model that seamlessly integrates FPP.
... This paper adopted a simplified five-step systematic literature review according to the guidelines of Leonidou et al. (2020), Okoli (2015) and Perkmann et al. (2013). A systematic literature review is an important tool to achieve both accurate and reliable synthesis of evidence (Liberati et al., 2009), as well as transparent and replicable procedures (Tranfield et al., 2003;Okoli, 2005). This review includes five steps: question formulation, the definition of review protocols, application of review protocols, analysis of results (descriptive and thematic analysis), and data synthesis. ...
The importance of innovation processes of organisations has been confirmed by a wide body of research. Hard times brought about as a result of external environment circumstances force organisations to alter their innovation processes. The purpose of this systematic literature review is to track the transformation of organisations by identifying the key strategies that were adopted by these to shape innovation processes during the COVID-19 pandemic. The review was conducted using keyword (“innovation process*” AND “covid”) searches in four databases: EBSCO host, Emerald, Science Direct and PubMed. A further systematic approach included the selection of articles based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. The relevant literature was based on scientific articles published in highly rated scientific journals. These articles were then analysed using descriptive and thematic analysis. A total of 13 academic peer-reviewed articles were selected from an initial sample of 566 that were published between 2019 and 2022. The analysis of articles led to the proposition of four strategies that shaped the innovation processes in organisations during the COVID-19 pandemic and can help organisations in the future: rethinking, rapid response, collaboration and openness. The review has some practical implications, that can help management and R&D experts eliminate organisational uncertainties.
Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk memperkaya informasi dan meningkatkan awareness dalam hal inovasi pembelajaran Biologi berbasis AI dan IoT di era society 5.0. Metode penelitian yang digunakan yakni systematic review, dengan melakukan studi literatur yang relevan dan termutakhir. Hasil dari penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa terdapat beberapa manfaat dari pemanfaatan AI dan IoT, seperti: develop problem solving strategy, allow continous learning, encourgae social intelligence, promote creativity, dan enable Human-AI synergy. Selain itu, kontribusi positif dari inovasi pembelajaran berbasis AI dan IoT dapat diintegrasikan pada strategi pembelajaran Biologi, aspek penilaian dan kegiatan praktikum virtual. Inovasi pembelajaran berbasis AI dan IoT tersebut dapat diterapkan melalui berbagai platform, seperti: ChatGPT, Pictory AI, Gamma App, Chatbot dan lain sebagainya disesuaikan dengan kebutuhan pengguna.
According to Chong et al, (2021) a systematic methodological review is an elaborate secondary research process based on synthesis which involves analysis and summarizing of methodolog-ical practises used in a specific substantive research topic. As Munn, Stern, Aromataris, Lockwood, & Jordan, (2018) postulates , the process of systematic methodological reviews aims at investigating and analysing any methodological concerns of a give research topic and mostly critiques the design based evidence synthesis, conduct and review of the research. Systematic reviews offer the best method comprehensively collate, examine and synthesize a body of literature. This systematic review focused on twenty-two articles on Internationalization Strategies and globalization in higher education which were identified through a comprehensive PRISMA process. This review examines the types of research approaches used, data collection methods, and data analysis techniques and summarizes in findings the the most commonly used methodologies in inter-nationalization in higher education research, most preferred method scholars use for research on interna-tionalization in higher education with justifications of choosing one methodology among available options.
A evasão no ensino superior é um problema crescente e tem atraído atenção de pesquisadores mundialmente. O objetivo deste trabalho é mapear a produção científica sobre o tema por meio de um estudo bibliométrico com dados da Web of Science. As buscas foram feitas com termos relacionados à evasão na graduação. Os artigos encontrados foram analisados com gráficos, redes e tabelas, principalmente com o pacote Bibliometrix. Os resultados apresentam um inventário das publicações com informações úteis para pesquisadores da área. O estudo traz dados sistematizados que fomentam a pesquisa sobre evasão acadêmica no Brasil e no mundo, contribuindo para o conhecimento do tema e apoio a políticas públicas.
Стаття присвячена дослідженню світових тенденцій розвитку бізнес-моделей інтернет-підприємництва на основі аналізу динаміки публікаційної активності у наукометричній базі даних Scopus за період 2011–2024 років. Метою дослідження є встановлення закономірностей щодо розвитку наукових досліджень у галузі інтернет-підприємництва та еволюції бізнес-моделей як надійного інструменту для просування підприємницьких проєктів в умовах цифровізації та глобалізації економіки. Методологічним інструментарієм аналізу тенденцій публікаційної активності з питань розвитку бізнес-моделей інтернет-підприємництва є інтегрований бібліометричний підхід. Формування масиву даних здійснено за допомогою аналітичного інструментарію міжнародної наукометричної бази даних Scopus. Візуалізацію результатів аналізу ключових слів та кластеризацію напрямів досліджень за визначеною тематикою здійснено з використанням програмного пакету VOSviewer (версія 1.6.20). За результатами аналізу тенденцій розвитку наукових досліджень в цій сфері у роботі доведено стрімке зростання публікацій з 2018 року, що пов’язано з активізацією глобальної електронної комерції та впливом цифрових технологій на підприємницьку діяльність. У роботі розглянуто найбільш цитовані публікації та визначено топ-10 вчених, які зробили вагомий внесок у дослідження бізнес-моделей інтернет-підприємництва. За результатами кластеризації публікацій за країнами походження та джерелами фінансування визначено основні центри наукової активності у цій сфері. На основі бібліометричного аналізу ключових слів за допомогою програмного забезпечення VOSviewer ідентифіковано провідні наукові напрямки досліджень у сфері цифрового підприємництва. До основних тематичних кластерів належать: цифрове підприємництво, електронна комерція, бізнес-моделювання та інновації. Отримані результати можуть слугувати аналітичною основою для подальшого вивчення сучасних тенденцій та перспектив розвитку досліджень у галузі цифрової економіки та підприємницької діяльності в онлайн-середовищі. JEL Classification: F41, M13, М21
This study explores the infrastructural and financial challenges confronting higher education institutions in Ghana and identifies strategies for building resilience within the sector. Through a systematic review of literature and relevant secondary data, the study highlights the pervasive issues of inadequate physical and technological infrastructure, exacerbated by growing student populations and insufficient financial resources. Resilience theory was selected for this study because of its dynamic, process-oriented framework, which closely aligns with the study’s emphasis on long-term sustainability and capacity building. Unlike Resource Dependence Theory and Institutional Theory, which offer more static perspectives, resilience theory captures the adaptive and evolving responses institutions employ when confronted with internal and external disruptions. A central tenet of resilience in this context is the ability of universities to diversify their resources and effectively adjust to shifting circumstances. Key findings reveal that public universities face delayed government subventions, heavy dependence on tuition fees, and limited financial autonomy, which collectively hinder their operational efficiency and quality of education. The analysis further emphasizes the technological infrastructure gap, especially exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, which constrained effective online learning. In response, resilience strategies such as Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), internally generated funds, and revenue diversification have been identified as viable solutions. These strategies underscore the need for innovative financial models, collaborative partnerships, and institutional reforms to sustain higher education amidst resource constraints. The study advocates for proactive policy frameworks and capacity building to ensure the long-term sustainability and competitiveness of Ghanaian higher education institutions.
This study conducts a comprehensive bibliometric analysis to investigate the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Supply Chain Management (SCM), with a particular focus on innovation dynamics and logistical performance. Drawing upon 127 peer-reviewed articles indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection between 2015 and 2025, the research maps the intellectual structure, thematic evolution, and global diffusion of this emerging field. Using VOSviewer and Biblioshiny, the study identifies key authors, institutions, journals, and countries contributing to the scholarly discourse, while uncovering five dominant research clusters, including AI-enabled resilience, performance measurement, and sustainable digital transformation. Results indicate a growing convergence of AI, logistics innovation, and sustainability, reflecting both theoretical advancements and practical implications for data-driven decision-making and organizational agility. The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of how AI is reshaping supply chains.
In recent years, the management field has witnessed a surge in studies examining career success among workers from historically marginalized minority groups. However, to date, insights gained from this research remain fragmented and have not been integrated into the existing career success frameworks. We aim to complement career success scholarship and contribute to its inclusivity by conducting a systematic review that synthesizes the factors and pathways contributing to the career success of four historically underrepresented minority groups: women, racial and ethnic minorities, individuals with disabilities, and the LGBTQ+ community. Evidencing that career success disparity can be attributed to minority status, we propose a framework that highlights the career advancement and human and psychological resources associated with minority groups’ career success, as well as the systemic barriers limiting access to and use of such resources. We suggest hypervisibility, invisibility, and managed visibility as distinguishable forms of identity-based mechanisms that offer theoretical explanations for the influence of marginalized identity status on career success. Our framework integrates manifestations of subjective career success—accounting for survival, the collective good, and adjustability in addition to what extant literature has shown—emphasizing that membership in marginalized groups, communities, and other identity-relevant contexts shapes the subjective meaning of career success. Our review has practical implications for decision makers and organizations intending to bridge minority and nonminority groups’ career success disparity.
Spor takımları taraftarlar için sadece bir spor organizasyonu değil, aynı zamanda bir kimlik ve aidiyet kaynağıdır. Günümüzde taraftarların takımlarına olan bağlılıkları kimliklerinin ayrılmaz bir parçası haline gelmiştir. Bu tutku, taraftarların başarılar karşısında olumlu, başarısızlıklarda ise olumsuz duygular yaşamalarına yol açmaktadır. Bu çalışma, spor takımı taraftarlığında olumsuz bir duygu olan marka nefretinin öncüllerini ve sonuçlarını incelemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Marka nefreti ve diğer olumsuz duygusal tepkiler üzerine yapılan araştırmaların son yıllarda hızlı bir artış göstermesine rağmen dinamik ve karmaşık bir yapıya sahip olan spor endüstrisi literatürde oldukça az araştırılmıştır. Dolayısıyla sporda marka nefretinin potansiyel öncüllerini ve sonuçlarını ortaya koyan kapsamlı bir çerçeve sunmanın, keşfedilmemiş çeşitli araştırma boşluklarının belirlenmesi yoluyla teoriye ve metodolojiye katkı sunacağı öngörülmüştür. Bu doğrultuda spor pazarlaması alanında yayımlanan ilgili çalışmaların sistematik bir incelemesi yapılmış ve gelecek araştırmacılar için kolaylaştırıcı ve yol gösterici bir model ortaya çıkarılmıştır. Modelde yer alan değişkenlerin neden-sonuç ilişkisi bağlamında yeni araştırma tasarımlarında farklı biçimlerde yer alması, literatürün gelişimi ve uygulayıcıların pazarlama stratejileri üzerinde etki oluşturması bakımından önemli görülmekte ve önerilmektedir.
Geometry is an essential part of mathematics education and understanding effective strategies for learning geometry is increasingly important. This study presents a combination of bibliometric and systematic review of research on geometry learning strategies, analysing on publication trends, main contributors, research topics and citation networks over the past three decades. Utilizing data from the Web of Science database, we reviewed 730 articles, identifying key themes through co-citation analysis and three major clusters: (1) Foundations of mathematics education and research methodology, (2) Spatial ability, cognitive development and STEM learning and (3) Early spatial and mathematical development in education. The study reveals that spatial reasoning is very important for understanding mathematics and training in spatial skills helps to improve problem-solving skills and achievements in STEM subjects. However, four gaps in the research were identified: limited research from Africa and Latin America, lack of long-term studies on spatial training effects, limited integration of AI and digital tools and limited interdisciplinary integration with cognitive psychology and neuroscience. The novelty of this study lies in mapping thirty years of intellectual development in geometry education by combining bibliometric and systematic review methods, offering new insights for improving teaching strategies and future research directions.
Web of Scıence Veri Tabanı’nda İş Sağlığı ve Güvenliği Konusunda Yapılmış Akademik Çalışmaların Bibliyometrik Analizi İlhami AY Hatice ÖZDEMİR Murat DAL Mimari Tasarımda Sismik Dayanıklılık Üzerine Bibliyometrik Bir Analiz Arzu ER Mimarlık-Ergonomi İlişkisini Bilimsel Yayınlardan İzlemek: Bibliyometrik Bir İnceleme (1975-2025) Beyza Nur AZMANOĞLU İrem Zülal KARABİNA Şengül YALÇINKAYA Depreme Dayanıklı Kentleşmede Kentsel Dönüşüm ve Sürdürülebilirlik Uygulamalarının Rolü: Bibliyometrik Bir Analiz Sinem Helen UMUT Aslı ER AKAN Ulakbim Veri Tabanında Siber Güvenlik ve Denetim Konusunda Yayınlanmış Akademik Çalışmaların Bibliyometrik Analizi Ayşe Gül GÖK Spor Yönetimi Disiplininde Yapılmış Olan Doktora Tezlerinin Bibliyometrik Profili (2020-2024) Ali Gürel GÖKSEL Kaan ÇOLAKOĞLU Mustafa AKTOP Finansal Okuryazarlık Temelinin Oluşturulmasında Finansal Sosyalizasyon: Bibliometrik ve Sistematik Bir Analiz Adem ÖZBEK İklim Değişikliği ve Pazarlama: Web of Scıence Verilerıne Dayalı Bibliyometrik Bir Analiz (1985-2025) Ruhan İRİ
Entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and sustainable innovation (SI) are critical for the growth of enterprises. This paper presents the first systematic literature review to examine the relationship between EO and SI, providing a comprehensive framework to understand this relationship and identify mediating and moderating factors. The study aims to clarify the current context of literature about the relationship between EO and SI, particularly in the context of sustainability. This systematic literature review is a synthesis of 64 quantitative studies published in Scopus and Web of Science, and the review process was based on the concepts, theories, and investigated relationships within these studies. The findings highlight that research on the EO-SI relationship in the context of sustainability is still nascent, despite growing scholarly interest. Current studies tend to focus on output factors rather than exploring antecedents and other factors influencing this relationship. The review has identified several research gaps and suggested needs for studies on mediating and moderating variables, longitudinal research, and research in developing countries.
Purpose
This study reviews and synthesizes the research on appreciative inquiry (AI). It presents an intellectual structure of the field and highlights the recent trends in AI research. It presents a comprehensive research framework outlining the underlying mechanisms of AI and their corresponding potential functionalities across levels: individual, group and organisation. It provides future research avenues based on the synthesis.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses a bibliometric systematic literature review method. The presented analysis covers both bibliometric and in-depth manual content analysis. In total, 68 articles indexed in the Scopus database were analysed.
Findings
The study shows a predominant focus on the application of AI in healthcare and education sectors, and most of the research is limited to the global north and the Pacific. It provides a comprehensive research framework proposing its application through other theoretical anchors and extending to multiple areas of management. Future research is required to determine the role of disseminators of the AI method and the boundary conditions in crafting the success narratives of AI as a method.
Originality/value
This study takes advantage of both bibliometric and in-depth content analysis to expand the understanding of the intellectual structure and recent developments in AI. It demonstrates the emerging trends in AI literature, such as its use as an evaluating instrument and application to study sensitive populations. It reveals how AI effectively ensures perceptions of a safe space for vulnerable populations and highlights its scope of application to a broader set of domains. It highlights the future research directions to enrich AI literature.
Purpose
This paper aims to provide a comprehensive literature review on the practices and challenges in managing waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) in smart cities.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic literature review was conducted using the Methodi Ordinatio. Articles published between 2012 and 2022 were analyzed, totaling 149 references, of which 30 were included in the final review.
Findings
Emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), big data and artificial intelligence (AI) are frequently highlighted as promising solutions for efficient e-waste management. Governance models and public policies are widely recognized as crucial for the successful implementation of WEEE management practices in smart cities.
Originality/value
This study underscores the role of advanced technologies, such as IoT and AI, in enhancing urban mobility and WEEE management. Key challenges include information security, privacy, interoperability, costs and sustainability. The findings reveal a convergence between smart cities and WEEE management, fostering the circular economy and the recovery of valuable materials.
Recent research on family firms and digital transformation has expanded theoretical and empirical insights. However, existing reviews and most empirical studies have primarily focused on comparing family firms to non-family counterparts, often overlooking internal diversity. This approach has produced conflicting findings and limited theoretical advancement by treating family firms as homogenous. Addressing this gap, our review adopts a novel perspective that foregrounds family firms' heterogeneity. We identify two principal sources of this variance-context of operation and family involvement-and argue that understanding these dimensions is crucial for explaining differential responses to digital transformation. Building on this, we propose a comprehensive multilevel framework that integrates internal and external factors, offering a more nuanced foundation for future research on how family firms navigate digital challenges.
This chapter provides a comprehensive analysis of the corporate reputation concept, examining its evolution and definitional challenges. It systematically reviews the literature from the past 50 years, categorizing studies into three distinct periods. It highlights the transition from viewing corporate reputation as a strategic asset to a relational approach focused on stakeholder perceptions and, more recently, to an integrative perspective that incorporates both. The chapter also discusses corporate reputation as a source of competitive advantage, drawing on theoretical frameworks such as the resource-based view, signalling theory, and institutional theory. Additionally, it explores corporate reputation’s classification as an intangible asset and the challenges associated with its measurement under accounting standards. By synthesizing various disciplinary perspectives and theoretical frameworks, this chapter sets the stage for subsequent discussions on reputation management and its impact on firms.
Purpose: This research aims to evaluate existing literature about smart cities in healthcare settings while determining potential future research paths. The research examines digital transformation effects on healthcare delivery as well as healthcare governance and policy within urban environments. Design/methodology/approach: The research study adopts a structured literature review approach that combines bibliometric and content analysis. The Scopus database provided 617 peer-reviewed articles for this study. The authors conducted multiple screening stages before selecting 48 articles for thorough evaluation using VOSviewer and thematic content coding. Findings: The analysis shows that the existing research about this topic remains scattered and continues to develop without clear connections between studies. The research identified three main research areas, which include smart cities for health safety, smart cities for health data sharing, and smart cities for developing healthcare skills. The research reveals important managerial and policy implications that healthcare systems can use to boost their performance and resilience through smart urban innovation. Originality: This paper creates a first-of-its-kind bibliometric map of smart healthcare research in urban areas to present an integrated view of technological managerial and policy-oriented contributions. The research fills an important knowledge gap by establishing a connection between digital health approaches and urban governance frameworks. Practical implications: The study delivers data-driven guidance for healthcare managers and urban policymakers who want to establish smart health solutions through evidence-based strategic decision support and investment planning and policy development.
Floods are among the most frequent and severe natural hazards worldwide, with climate change increasing uncertainty. While the literature on flood risk management emphasizes proactive, resilience‐based approaches over traditional resistance‐ and recovery‐oriented strategies, the role of insurers beyond risk transfer remains underexplored. Our study addresses this gap through a systematic review of 309 academic papers contributing to extending the flood risk management cycle with additional dimensions. Furthermore, a content analysis of 25 sustainability reports from large P&C insurers reveals differences in focus, yet a broad engagement in most of the identified dimensions with activities such as early loss recovery services, “building back better” programs, public and policyholder education initiatives, and investments in nature‐based flood protection projects. Our findings suggest that a broadened flood risk management and sustainability perspective provides a valuable framework for insurers to shape their role in enhancing risk management and insurability in a multi‐stakeholder context.
The authors suggest that findings of independent, similar research articles may be aggregated into a cohesive study. Such a procedure greatly enhances the generalizability of the original studies and produces a relatively solid mid-range theory. In this article, the criteria for selecting studies, possible problems inherent in the aggregation approach, and potential areas for application are discussed.
The explosion of knowledge production within business and other organizations poses a critical challenge to current modes of teaching and research within our business schools. We need to consider new strategic positions closer to the knowledge production being carried on within the organizations we study, without assuming that immediate relevance is our primary objective. The academic advantage, in my opinion, still lies in generalization and abstraction.
A framework for synthesizing qualitative findings is described, and issues surrounding employment of this technique are discussed. Further debate on these issues is encouraged to develop and refine this framework. The practical importance of interpretive meta-synthesis is highlighted in relation to theory development.
The past decade has witnessed widespread interest in the development of policy and practice that is better informed by evidence. Enthusiasm has, however, been tempered by recognition of the difficulties of devising effective strategies to ensure that evidence is integrated into policy and utilized in practice. There is already a rich but diverse and widely dispersed literature that can be drawn upon to inform such strategies. This article offers a guide to this literature by focusing on six main interrelated concerns: (1) the types of knowledge relevant to understanding research utilization/evidence-based practice (RU/EBP) implementation; (2) the ways in which research knowledge is utilized; (3) models of the process of utilization; (4) the conceptual frameworks that enable us to understand the process of RU/EBP implementation; (5) the main ways of intervening to increase evidence uptake and the effectiveness of these; (6) different ways of conceptualizing what RU/EBP means in practice.
This is the first in a series of three articlesIn the past decade, qualitative methods have become more commonplace in areas such as health services research and health technology assessment, and there has been a corresponding rise in the reporting of qualitative research studies in medical and related journals.1 Interest in these methods and their wider exposure in health research has led to necessary scrutiny of qualitative research. Researchers from other traditions are increasingly concerned to understand qualitative methods and, most importantly, to examine the claims researchers make about the findings obtained from these methods.The status of all forms of research depends on the quality of the methods used. In qualitative research, concern about assessing quality has manifested itself recently in the proliferation of guidelines for doing and judging qualitative work.2–5 Users and funders of research have had an important role in developing these guidelines as they become increasingly familiar with qualitative methods, but require some means of assessing their quality and of distinguishing “good” and “poor” quality research. However, the issue of “quality” in qualitative research is part of a much larger and contested debate about the nature of the knowledge produced by qualitative research, whether its quality can legitimately be judged, and, if so, how. This paper cannot do full justice to this wider epistemological debate. Rather it outlines two views of how qualitative methods might be judged and argues that qualitative research can be assessed according to two broad criteria: validity and relevance.
Summary points
Qualitative methods are now widely used and increasingly accepted in health research, but quality in qualitative research is a mystery to many health services researchers
There is considerable debate over the nature of the knowledge produced by such methods and how such research should be judged
Antirealists argue …
Introduction
Remember the essays you used to write as a student? You would browse through the indexes of books and journals until you came across a paragraph that looked relevant, and copied it out. If anything you found did not fit in with the theory you were proposing, you left it out. This, more or less, constitutes the methodology of the journalistic review—an overview of primary studies which have not been identified or analysed in a systematic (standardised and objective) way.
Summary points
A systematic review is an overview of primary studies that used explicit and reproducible methods
A meta-analysis is a mathematical synthesis of the results of two or more primary studies that addressed the same hypothesis in the same way
Although meta-analysis can increase the precision of a result, it is important to ensure that the methods used for the review were valid and reliable
In contrast, a systematic review is an overview of primary studies which contains an explicit statement of objectives, materials, and methods and has been conducted according to explicit and reproducible methodology (fig 1).
View larger version:In a new windowDownload as PowerPoint SlideFig 1
Methodology for a systematic review of randomised controlled trials1
Some advantages of the systematic review are given in box. When a systematic review is undertaken, not only must the search for relevant articles be thorough and objective, but the criteria used to reject articles as “flawed” must be explicit and independent of the results of those trials. The most enduring and useful systematic reviews, notably those undertaken by the Cochrane Collaboration, are regularly updated to incorporate new evidence.2
Box 1: Advantages of systematic reviews3
Explicit methods limit bias in identifying and rejecting studiesConclusions are more reliable and accurate because of methods usedLarge amounts of information can be assimilated quickly by healthcare providers, researchers, and policymakersDelay between research discoveries and implementation of effective diagnostic and therapeutic strategies may be reducedResults of different studies can be formally compared to establish generalisability of findings and consistency (lack of heterogeneity) of resultsReasons for heterogeneity (inconsistency in results across studies) can be identified and new hypotheses generated about particular subgroupsQuantitative systematic reviews (meta-analyses) increase the precision of the overall result
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Many, if not most, medical review articles are still written in narrative or journalistic form. Professor Paul Knipschild has described how Nobel prize winning biochemist Linus Pauling used selective quotes from the medical literature to “prove” his theory that vitamin C helps you live longer and feel better.3 4 When Knipschild and his colleagues searched the literature systematically for evidence for and against this hypothesis they found that, although one or two trials did strongly suggest that vitamin C could prevent the onset of the common cold, there were far more studies which did not show any beneficial effect.
Experts, who have been steeped in a subject for years and know what the answer “ought” to be, are less able to produce an objective review of the literature in their subject than non-experts.5 6 This would be of little consequence if experts' opinions could be relied on to be congruent with the results of independent systematic reviews, but they cannot.7
Evaluating systematic reviews
Question 1: Can you find an important clinical question which the review addressed?
The question addressed by a systematic review needs to be defined very precisely, since the reviewer must make a dichotomous (yes/no) decision as to whether each potentially relevant paper will be included or, alternatively, rejected as “irrelevant.” Thus, for example, the clinical question “Do anticoagulants prevent strokes in patients with atrial fibrillation?” should be refined as an objective: “To assess the effectiveness and safety of warfarin-type anticoagulant therapy in secondary prevention (that is, following a previous stroke or transient ischaemic attack) in patients with non-rheumatic atrial fibrillation: comparison with placebo.”8
Question 2: Was a thorough search done of the appropriate databases and were other potentially important sources explored?
Even the best Medline search will miss important papers, for which the reviewer must approach other sources.9 Looking up references of references often yields useful articles not identified in the initial search,10 and an exploration of “grey literature” (box) may be particularly important for subjects outside the medical mainstream, such as physiotherapy or alternative medicine.11 Finally, particularly where a statistical synthesis of results (meta-analysis) is contemplated, it may be necessary to write and ask the authors of the primary studies for raw data on individual patients which was never included in the published review.
Box 2: Checklist of data sources for a systematic review
Medline databaseCochrane controlled clinical trials registerOther medical and paramedical databasesForeign language literature“Grey literature” (theses, internal reports, non-peer reviewed journals, pharmaceutical industry files)References (and references of references, etc) listed in primary sourcesOther unpublished sources known to experts in the field (seek by personal communication)Raw data from published trials (seek by personal communication)
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Question 3: Was methodological quality assessed and the trials weighted accordingly?
One of the tasks of a systematic reviewer is to draw up a list of criteria, including both generic (common to all research studies) and particular (specific to the field) aspects of quality, against which to judge each trial (see box). However, care should be taken in developing such scores since there is no gold standard for the “true” methodological quality of a trial12 and composite quality scores are often neither valid nor reliable in practice.13 14 The various Cochrane collaborative review groups are developing topic-specific methodology for assigning quality scores to research studies.15
Box 3: Assigning weight to trials in a systematic review
Each trial should be evaluated in terms of its:
Methodological quality—the extent to which the design and conduct are likely to have prevented systematic errors (bias)Precision—a measure of the likelihood of random errors (usually depicted as the width of the confidence interval around the result)External validity—the extent to which the results are generalisable or applicable to a particular target population
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Question 4: How sensitive are the results to the way the review has been done?
Carl Counsell and colleagues “proved” (in the Christmas 1994 issue of the BMJ) an entirely spurious relationship between the result of shaking a dice and the outcome of an acute stroke.16 They reported a series of artificial dice rolling experiments in which red, white, and green dice represented different therapies for acute stroke. Overall, the “trials” showed no significant benefit from the three therapies. However, the simulation of a number of perfectly plausible events in the process of meta-analysis—such as the exclusion of several of the “negative” trials through publication bias, a subgroup analysis which excluded data on red dice therapy (since, on looking back at the results, red dice appeared to be harmful), and other, essentially arbitrary, exclusions on the grounds of “methodological quality”—led to an apparently highly significant benefit of “dice therapy” in acute stroke.
If these simulated results pertained to a genuine medical controversy, how would you spot these subtle biases? You need to work through the “what ifs”. What if the authors of the systematic review had changed the inclusion criteria? What if they had excluded unpublished studies? What if their “quality weightings” had been assigned differently? What if trials of lower methodological quality had been included (or excluded)? What if all the patients unaccounted for in a trial were assumed to have died (or been cured)?
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PETER BROWN
An exploration of what ifs is known as a sensitivity analysis. If you find that fiddling with the data in various ways makes little or no difference to the review's overall results, you can assume that the review's conclusions are relatively robust. If, however, the key findings disappear when any of the what ifs changes, the conclusions should be expressed far more cautiously and you should hesitate before changing your practice in the light of them.
Question 5: Have the numerical results been interpreted with common sense and due regard to the broader aspects of the problem?
Any numerical result, however precise, accurate, “significant,” or otherwise incontrovertible, must be placed in the context of the painfully simple and often frustratingly general question which the review addressed. The clinician must decide how (if at all) this numerical result, whether significant or not, should influence the care of an individual patient. A particularly important feature to consider when undertaking or appraising a systematic review is the external validity or relevance of the trials that are included.
Meta-analysis for the non-statistician
A good meta-analysis is often easier for the non-statistician to understand than the stack of primary research papers from which it was derived. In addition to synthesising the numerical data, part of the meta-analyst's job is to tabulate relevant information on the inclusion criteria, sample size, baseline patient characteristics, withdrawal rate, and results of primary and secondary end points of all the studies included. Although such tables are often visually daunting, they save you having to plough through the methods sections of each paper and compare one author's tabulated results with another author's pie chart or histogram.
These days, the results of meta-analyses tend to be presented in a fairly standard form, such as is produced by the computer software MetaView.3 is a pictorial representation (colloquially known as a “forest plot”) of the pooled odds ratios of eight randomised controlled trials which each compared coronary artery bypass grafting with percutaneous coronary angioplasty in the treatment of severe angina.17 The primary (main) outcome in this meta-analysis was death or heart attack within one year.
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Pooled odds ratios of eight randomised controlled trials of coronary artery bypass grafting against percutaneous coronary angioplasty, shown in MetaView format. Reproduced with authors' permission17
The horizontal line corresponding to each of the eight trials shows the relative risk of death or heart attack at one year in patients randomised to coronary angioplasty compared to patients randomised to bypass surgery. The “blob” in the middle of each line is the point estimate of the difference between the groups (the best single estimate of the benefit in lives saved by offering bypass surgery rather than coronary angioplasty), and the width of the line represents the 95% confidence interval of this estimate. The black line down the middle of the picture is known as the “line of no effect,” and in this case is associated with a relative risk of 1.0.
If the confidence interval of the result (the horizontal line) crosses the line of no effect (the vertical line), that can mean either that there is no significant difference between the treatments or that the sample size was too small to allow us to be confident where the true result lies. The various individual studies give point estimates of the relative risk of coronary angioplasty compared with bypass surgery of between about 0.5 and 5.0, and the confidence intervals of some studies are so wide that they do not even fit on the graph. Now look at the tiny diamond below all the horizontal lines. This represents the pooled data from all eight trials (overall relative risk of coronary angioplasty compared with bypass surgery=1.08), with a new, much narrower, confidence interval of this relative risk (0.79 to 1.50). Since the diamond firmly overlaps the line of no effect, we can say that there is probably little to choose between the two treatments in terms of the primary end point (death or heart attack in the first year). Now, in this example, every one of the eight trials also suggested a non-significant effect, but in none of them was the sample size large enough for us to be confident in that negative result.
Note, however, that this neat little diamond does not mean that you might as well offer coronary angioplasty rather than bypass surgery to every patient with angina. It has a much more limited meaning—that the average patient in the trials presented in this meta-analysis is equally likely to have met the primary outcome (death or myocardial infarction within a year), whichever of these two treatments they were randomised to receive. If you read the paper by Pocock and colleagues17 you would find important differences in the groups in terms of prevalence of angina and requirement for further operative intervention after the initial procedure.
Explaining heterogeneity
In the language of meta-analysis, homogeneity means that the results of each individual trial are mathematically compatible with the results of any of the others. Homogeneity can be estimated at a glance once the trial results have been presented in the format illustrated in figures 3 and 4. In 3 the lower confidence limit of every trial is below the upper confidence limit of all the others (that is, the horizontal lines all overlap to some extent). Statistically speaking, the trials are homogeneous. Conversely, in 4 some lines do not overlap at all. These trials may be said to be heterogeneous.
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Reduction in risk of heart disease by strategies for lowering cholesterol. Reproduced with permission from Chalmers and Altman18
The definitive test for heterogeneity involves a slightly more sophisticated statistical manoeuvre than holding a ruler up against the forest plot. The one most commonly used is a variant of the χ2 (chi square) test, since the question addressed is whether there is greater variation between the results of the trials than is compatible with the play of chance. Thompson18 offers the following rule of thumb: a χ2 statistic has, on average, a value equal to its degrees of freedom (in this case, the number of trials in the meta-analysis minus one), so a χ2 of 7.0 for a set of eight trials would provide no evidence of statistical heterogeneity. Note that showing statistical heterogeneity is a mathematical exercise and is the job of the statistician, but explaining this heterogeneity (looking for, and accounting for, clinical heterogeneity) is an interpretive exercise and requires imagination, common sense, and hands-on clinical or research experience.
4 shows the results of ten trials of cholesterol lowering strategies. The results are expressed as the percentage reduction in risk of heart disease associated with each reduction of 0.6 mmol/l in serum cholesterol concentration. From the horizontal lines which represent the 95% confidence intervals of each result it is clear, even without knowing the χ2 statistic of 127, that the trials are highly heterogeneous. Correcting the data for the age of the trial subjects reduced this value to 45. In other words, much of the “incompatibility” in the results of these trials can be explained by the fact that embarking on a strategy which successfully reduces your cholesterol level will be substantially more likely to prevent a heart attack if you are 45 than if you are 85.
Clinical heterogeneity, essentially, is the grievance of Professor Hans Eysenck, who has constructed a vigorous and entertaining critique of the science of meta-analysis.19 In a world of lumpers and splitters, Eysenck is a splitter, and it offends his sense of the qualitative and the particular to combine the results of studies which were done on different populations in different places at different times and for different reasons.
The articles in this series are excerpts from How to read a paper: the basics of evidence based medicine. The book includes chapters on searching the literature and implementing evidence based findings. It can be ordered from the BMJ Publishing Group: tel 0171 383 6185/6245; fax 0171 383 6662. Price £13.95 UK members, £14.95 non-members.
Eysenck's reservations about meta-analysis are borne out in the infamously discredited meta-analysis which showed (wrongly) that giving intravenous magnesium to people who had had heart attacks was beneficial. A subsequent megatrial involving 58 000 patients (ISIS-4) failed to find any benefit, and the meta-analysts' misleading conclusions were subsequently explained in terms of publication bias, methodological weaknesses in the smaller trials, and clinical heterogeneity.20 21Acknowledgments
Thanks to Professor Iain Chalmers for advice on this chapter.
References1.↵The Cochrane Centre.Cochrane CollaborationHandbook [updated 9 December 1996]. The Cochrane Collaboration; issue 1. Oxford: Update Software, 1997.2.↵Bero L, Rennie D.The Cochrane Collaboration: preparing, maintaining, and disseminating systematic reviews of the effects of health care.JAMA 1995;274:1935–8.3.↵Chalmers I, Altman DG, eds. Systematic reviews. London: BMJ Publishing Group, 1995.4.↵Pauling L.How to live longer and feel better. New York: Freeman, 1986.5.↵Oxman AD, Guyatt GH.The science of reviewing research.Ann NY Acad Sci 1993;703: 125–31.6.↵Mulrow C.The medical review article: state of the science.Ann Intern Med 1987;106: 485–8.7.↵Antman EM, Lau J, Kupelnick B, Mosteller F, Chalmers TC.A comparison of results of meta-analyses of randomised controlled trials and recommendations of clinical experts.JAMA 1992;268: 240–8.8.↵Koudstaal P.Secondary prevention following stroke orTIA in patients with non-rheumatic atrial fibrillation: anticoagulant therapy versus control. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Oxford: Cochrane Collaboration, 1995. (Updated 14 February 1995.)9.↵Greenhalgh T.Searching the literature. In: How to read a paper. London: BMJ Publishing Group, 1997: 13–33.10.↵Chalmers I, Altman DGKnipschild P.Some examples of systematic reviews. In: Chalmers I, Altman DG.Systematic reviews. London: BMJ PublishingGroup, 1995: 9–16.11.↵Knipschild P.Searching for alternatives: loser pays. Lancet 1993;341: 1135–6.12.↵Oxman A, ed.Preparing and maintaining systematic reviews. In: Cochrane Collaboration handbook, section VI. Oxford: Cochrane Collaboration, 1995. (Updated 14 July 1995.)13.↵Emerson JD, Burdick E, Hoaglin DC, Mosteller F, Chalmers TC.An empirical study of the possible relation of treatment differences to quality scores in controlled randomized clinical trials.Controlled Clin Trials 1990;11: 339–52.14.↵Moher D, Jadad AR, Tugwell P.Assessing the quality of randomized controlled trials: current issues and future directions.IntJ Health Technol Assess 1996;12: 195–208.15.↵Garner P, Hetherington J.Establishing and supporting collaborative review groups. In: Cochrane Collaboration handbook, sectionII. Oxford: Cochrane Collaboration, 1995 (Updated 14 July 1995.)16.↵Counsell CE, Clarke MJ, Slattery J, Sandercock PAG.The miracle of DICE therapy for acute stroke: fact or fictional product of subgroup analysis?BMJ 1994;309: 1677–81.OpenUrlFREE Full Text17.↵Pocock SJ, Henderson RA, Rickards AF, Hampton JR, Sing SB III, Hamm CW, et al. Meta-analysis of randomised trials comparing coronary angioplasty with bypass surgery.Lancet 1995;346: 1184–9.18.↵Chalmers I, Altman DGThompson SG.Why sources of heterogeneity in meta-analysis should be investigated. In:Chalmers I, Altman DG.Systematicreviews. London, BMJ Publishing Group, 1995: 48–63.19.↵Chalmers I, Altman DGEysenck HJ.Problems with meta-analysis. In: Chalmers I, Altman DG.Systematic reviews. London: BMJ Publishing Group, 1995: 64–74.20.↵Magnesium, myocardial infarction, meta-analysis and mega-trials. Drug Ther Bull 1995;33: 25–7.21.↵Egger M, Davey Smith G.Misleading meta-analysis: lessons from “an effective, safe, simple” intervention that wasn't.BMJ 1995;310: 752–4.OpenUrlFREE Full Text
This volume offers an exploration of major changes in the way
knowledge is produced in science, technology, social science,
& humanities, arguing that a new mode of knowledge production
promises to replace or radically reform established
institutions, disciplines, practices, & policies. A range of
features - reflexivity, transdisciplinarity, heterogeneity -
associated with the new mode of knowledge production are
identified to illustrate the connections between them & the
changing role of knowledge in social relations.
Methodological difficulties inherent in attempts to describe
a new mode of knowledge production are discussed, &
implications of this mode for science policy & international
economic competitiveness, collaboration, & globalization are
treated. The book is particularly relevant for those
concerned with educational systems, the changing nature of
knowledge, the social study of science, & the connections
between research & development, & social, economic, &
technological development. The book is presented in 7 Chpts
with a Preface & an Introduction. (1) Evolution of Knowledge
Production. (2) The Marketability and Commercialisation of
Knowledge. (3) Massification of Research and Education. (4)
The Case of the Humanities. (5) Competitiveness,
Collaboration and Globalisation. (6) Reconfiguring
Institutions. (7) Towards Managing Socially Distributed
Knowledge. References accompany each Chpt. 2 Tables. W.
Howard (Copyright 1995, Sociological Abstracts, Inc., all
rights reserved.)
Qualitative methods are now widely used and increasingly accepted in health research, but quality in qualitative research is a mystery to many health services researchers. There is considerable debate over the nature of the knowledge produced by such methods and how such research should be judged. Antirealists argue that qualitative and quantitative research are very different and that it is not possible to judge qualitative research by using conventional criteria such as reliability, validity, and generalisability. Quality in qualitative research can be assessed with the same broad concepts of validity and relevance used for quantitative research, but these need to be operationalised differently to take into account the distinctive goals of qualitative research.
In this document, the framework for carrying out systematic
reviews is described in three stages: planning, reviewing and
disseminating. The need for a review should be established
before commissioning or commencing review work. The
methodology of the review should be documented and working
arrangements should be put in place to ensure that the
methods can be followed. Finally, there should be a strategy
for putting together a report of the review and disseminating
its findings to relevant audiences, and if possible, updating the
review.
The stages of a review and the phases within them are
described consecutively. However, this chronology may vary
during the review. It will not always be possible to complete
one phase before another has to be started, and sometimes it
will be more efficient to work on several phases
simultaneously.
It is essential that good communication is maintained between
those commissioning or supervising the review and those
carrying it out. To aid the process, this framework includes
agendas for some joint meetings. These meetings help set a
timetable and ensure that the review work receives the
required direction and support. The number of meetings and
their schedule may have to be tailored to suit the requirements
of a given review.
The content of this report draws on information from several
sources. All the steps necessary to undertake a systematic
review have been listed, but it is not possible to provide
definitive advice on all of the methods. This is because the
science of systematically reviewing the literature is relatively
young, and many methodological issues are still being
explored. Therefore this guidance is to assist those conducting
reviews to reach a minimum standard based on the
understanding of the subject at the time of writing. Reviewers
wishing to obtain up-to-date information in this area should
look at the Cochrane Methodology Database and systematic
reviews of empirical methodological research in the Cochrane
Library. New advice is incorporated in updates of the
Cochrane Reviewers' Handbook (URL: http://www.updatesoftware.
com/ccweb/cochrane/hbook.htm) and the ‘Resources
available at the CRD’ web site (URL: http://
www.york.ac.uk/inst/crd/).
Why, in light of all the substantial resources firms devote to improving their performance, do so few management practices actually change? In fact, knowledge management at many companies often makes the "knowing-doing" gap worse. This article explains why firms find it so difficult to translate knowledge into practice and offers a set of guidelines that address the sources of this problem. Knowing what to do is not enough; the challenge for managers is to figure out how to do what they know needs to be done.
Clinical practice guidelines have been developed to improve the process and outcomes of health care and to optimize resource utilization.By addressing such issues as prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, they can aid in health care decision making at many levels. Several other decision aids are cast in the guideline lexicon, regardless of their focus, formulation, or format; this can foster misunderstanding of the term “guideline.”
Whether created or adapted locally or nationally, most guidelines are an amalgam of clinical experience, expert opinion, and research evidence.Approaches to practice guideline development vary widely. Given the resources required to identify all relevant primary studies, many guidelines rely on systematic reviews that were either previously published or created de novo by guideline developers. Systematic reviews can aid in guideline development because they involve searching for, selecting, critically appraising, and summarizing the results of primary research. The more rigorous the review methods used and the higher the quality of the primary research that is synthesized, the more evidence-based the practice guideline is likely to be. Summaries of relevant research incorporated into guideline documents can help to keep practitioners up to date with the literature. Systematic reviews have also been published on the dissemination and implementation strategies most likely to change clinician behavior and improve patient outcomes. These can be useful in more effectively translating research evidence into practice.
This article summarizes recent research on the effectiveness of efforts to implement evidence-based health care. The authors conclude that the evidence in support of single interventions being effective in bringing about practitioner change is weak at best. The authors give examples and evaluative comments on more complex organizational and systemic interventions that are aimed at changing clinical practice, and discuss some of the barriers to their application.
The 1990s saw an upsurge of interest in using research evidence to inform public sector policy and practice. Yet, if such evidence is to have impact, ways must be found to move beyond the simple dissemination of research findings. Strategies need to be developed which encourage the uptake and utilisation of evidence. In exploring ways in which evidence-based practice might be achieved, the lessons gleaned from an examination of the literature on the diffusion of innovations are presented. The implications of these lessons for ongoing organizational learning are also outlined.
Doctors within the NHS are confronting major changes at work. While we endeavour to improve the quality of health care, junior doctors' hours have been reduced and the emphasis on continuing medical education has increased. We are confronted by a growing body of information, much of it invalid or irrelevant to clinical practice. This article discusses evidence based medicine, a process of turning clinical problems into questions and then systematically locating, appraising, and using contemporaneous research findings as the basis for clinical decisions. The computerisation of bibliographies and the development of software that permits the rapid location of relevant evidence have made it easier for busy clinicians to make best use of the published literature. Critical appraisal can be used to determine the validity and applicability of the evidence, which is then used to inform clinical decisions. Evidence based medicine can be taught to, and practised by, clinicians at all levels of seniority and can be used to close the gulf between good clinical research and clinical practice. In addition it can help to promote self directed learning and teamwork and produce faster and better doctors
The 1990s saw an upsurge of interest in using research evidence to inform public sector policy and practice. Yet, if such evidence is to have impact, ways must be found to move beyond the simple dissemination of research findings. Strategies need to be developed which encourage the uptake and utilisation of evidence. In exploring ways in which evidence-based practice might be achieved, the lessons gleaned from an examination of the literature on the diffusion of innovations are presented. The implications of these lessons for ongoing organizational learning are also outlined.
Researchers at the CRG (Management Research Center) carry out their work through “clinical studies” lasting from one to four years and generating in-depth observations on how organizations function. The observations are analyzed through systematic discussions: over a span of 20 years the CRG has carried out more than 100 clinical studies, debated in hundreds of internal meetings. These exchanges have made it possible to identify similarities and differences among the management situations studied, and to build up a body of knowledge in the field. Although the guiding principles behind this approach are rooted in the unique nature of the French “Grandes Ecoles d’Ingenieurs”, the research results can be useful for stimulating fruitful discussion in the field as a whole.
This paper proposes an alternative to both meta-analytic and traditional reviews. The method, “best-evidence synthesis,” combines the quantification of effect sizes and systematic study selection procedures of quantitative syntheses with the attention to individual studies and methodological and substantive issues typical of the best narrative reviews. Best-evidence syntheses focus on the “best evidence” in a field, the studies highest in internal and external validity, using well-specified and defended a priori inclusion criteria, and use effect size data as an adjunct to a full discussion of the literature being reviewed.
This article describes the action taken by a central government research group to ensure the implementation of recommendations for both policy and practice, which arose from a major programme of research on the prevention of crime. The research, which demonstrated that significant reductions in a range of offences could be achieved by focusing on the protection of first-time victims, is used as an example of what needs to be done to ensure implementation. The article outlines the research findings and describes what the staff of the research group did to increase the likely uptake of these findings by policy-makers and practitioners.
WHERE SHOULD a physician look to find accurate, up-to-date information about the effectiveness of a variety of clinical interventions? At the bedside or in the office, physicians should have instantaneous, up-to-date assistance from an affordable, universally available database of systematic reviews of the best evidence from clinical trials. Unfortunately, the physician who tries to seek the best evidence is often thwarted. Textbooks and reviews are often unreliable and years out of date.1 The searcher may find the MEDLINE database, surely one of the greatest achievements of US medicine, daunting and incomplete. Although well over 1 million clinical trials have been conducted, hundreds of thousands remain
See also pp 1942 and 1962. unpublished or are hard to find and may be in various languages. In the unlikely event that the physician finds all the relevant trials of a treatment, these are rarely accompanied by any comprehensive systematic review attempting to
Developments in housing policy and practice have been marked by strong ideological stances and a persistent unwillingness to clarify ends and means, so that key policy questions remain unresolved. Evidence can, and does, impact on policy, but only under certain conditions; for example, if it relates to a specific policy question, is restricted to the interests of a single government department and, especially, if it implies reductions in public spending. Moreover, housing’s complexity and relationship with a range of policy areas requires a linked perspective, at a local scale. A predominance of sector-specific, cross-sectional and qualitative research, allied to inadequate data impede the production of evidence to meet this challenge.
The Effective Practice Initiative is a bold attempt to introduce systematic change in the Probation Service so that its practices are based on best evidence of what works with offenders. The main elements of this holistic strategy are outlined and the key implementation issues are discussed.
British social services departments are a beleaguered species. Political ideology continues to play a major role in shaping policy and practice, despite a change of government. Sheltering beneath the ideological umbrella are more considered views of the need to rethink structures developed as a means of solving social problems and delivering services, some of which have themselves become problematic, some of which are simply too expensive. These influences have combined radically to reframe the roles and responsibilities of many who work face-to-face with service users and carers. It is in this context of change and threat to professional identity that the implementation of evidence-based approaches to policy and practice within social work has to be considered.
Health care practitioners (especially doctors) have always given assurances that what they do is efficacious. But in the past 50 years justification of the effectiveness of health care interventions has attained a new prominence. Evidence, at least notionally, now lies at the heart of health care policy and practice. This article provides an overview of the generation and use of evidence on effectiveness in health care. It explains why rigorous methodologies have taken hold and describes the major preoccupation with trying to ensure that research evidence has an impact on clinical practice. The strengths and weaknesses of evidence-based health care are explored to identify the opportunities for profitable transfer of experience across the public sector.
Preparing a review entails many judgments. The focus of the review must be decided. Studies that are relevant to the focus of the review must be identified, selected for inclusion and critically appraised. Information must be collected and synthesised from the relevant studies, and conclusions must be drawn. Checklists can help prevent important errors in this process. Reviewers, editors, content experts, and users of reviews all have a role to play in improving the quality of published reviews and promoting the appropriate use of reviews by decisionmakers. It is essential that both providers and users appraise the validity of review articles.
Why checklists?
When we think about flying, it is obvious why a checklist is used before take off. Airplanes are complex machines. Things can go wrong with them, and it is preferable that problems are discovered on the ground. However brilliant a pilot and crew might be, most of us would prefer that they use a checklist when preparing for take off, rather than relying on memory.
The need for checklists for review articles is less obvious, but the rationale is much the same. Preparing a review is a complex process entailing many judgements. The focus of the review must be decided. Studies that are relevant to the focus of the review must be identified, selected for inclusion, and critically appraised. Information must be collected and synthesised from the relevant studies, and conclusions must be drawn. Many decisions must be made throughout this process.
It is important to go through this process systematically to avoid errors. Explicitness about how decisions were made enables others to assess how well the process protected against errors. Checklists can help those doing and using reviews to avoid important errors.
Faulty reviews may not seem as perilous as faulty airplanes. However, if people are going to …
What is qualitative research?
Epidemiologist Nick Black has argued that a finding or a result is more likely to be accepted as a fact if it is quantified (expressed in numbers) than if it is not.1 There is little or no scientific evidence, for example, to support the well known “facts” that one couple in 10 is infertile, or that one man in 10 is homosexual. Yet, observes Black, most of us are happy to accept uncritically such simplified, reductionist, and blatantly incorrect statements so long as they contain at least one number.
Researchers who use qualitative methods seek a deeper truth. They aim to “study things in their natural setting, attempting to make sense of, or interpret, phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them,”2 and they use “a holistic perspective which preserves the complexities of human behaviour.”1
Summary points
Qualitative methods aim to make sense of, or interpret, phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them
Qualitative research may define preliminary questions which can then be addressed in quantitative studies
A good qualitative study will address a clinical problem through a clearly formulated question and using more than one research method (triangulation)
Analysis of qualitative data can and should be done using explicit, systematic, and reproducible methods
Questions such as “How many parents would consult their general practitioner when their child has a mild temperature?” or “What proportion of smokers have tried to give up?” clearly need answering through quantitative methods. But questions like “Why do parents worry so much about their children's temperature?” and “What stops people giving up smoking?” cannot and should not be answered by leaping in and measuring the first aspect of the problem that we (the outsiders) think might be important. Rather, we need to listen to what people have to say, …
A pedagogical approach to doing a scholarly review of literature on your topic. Not a simple how to do book but one that engender thinking.
This report examines the relevance gap in management research. Its focus is the nature of knowledge created by research at the interface between business and academia in the context of major changes likely to affect the nature of demand for such knowledge. Management research has been accused of a lack of relevance to managerial practice and of too narrow a discipline base. The report examines the conditions giving rise to this criticism, in the UK and elsewhere, and identifies an important strategic need to increase the stakeholding of users in various aspects of the research and knowledge creation and dissemination process. The report concludes with recommendations concerning new forms of research partnership and research training that will address the relevance gap. However, bridging this gap does not only require changes in the academic mind-set. Managers and firms too need to rethink their involvement in the research process.
The publication of the Starkey and Madan (2001) report represents a timely and valuable contribution to an ongoing debate across a range of applied disciplines, concerning the nature and purpose of social research. The call for stakeholder alignment, culminating in the production of new knowledge that is both theoretically and methodologically rigorous on the one hand, and socially relevant on the other, is, in our view, to be greatly welcomed. However, the Mode 2 approach advocated by Starkey and Madan will not satisfy these fundamental requirements. Drawing on recent analyses of the nature, causes and consequences of the academic-practitioner divide in the subfield of industrial, work and organizational psychology, we offer an alternative, four-fold taxonomy of the varieties of managerial knowledge. Within our alternative framework, research that is low on rigour but high on relevance (a likely consequence of the wholesale adoption of a Mode 2 approach) is characterized as ‘Popularist Science’. ‘Pedantic Science’, by contrast, is high on rigour but low on relevance, while ‘Puerile Science’ meets neither requirement. Only ‘Pragmatic Science’ will meet the twin imperatives of rigour and relevance. Whilst it is highly desirable that Pragmatic Science should dominate the management field, there are considerable barriers that impede its widespread adoption at the present time, not least the limited availability of researchers who possess the requisite sociopolitical and methodological competencies. The immediate imperative that has to be addressed, therefore, is the question of how best to close this competency gap, a fundamental precondition of stakeholder realignment.
There has been an accumulation of qualitative studies in recent years, but little cumulation of the understandings gained from them. Qualitative research appears endangered both by efforts to synthesize studies and by the failure to do so. Techniques used have included reciprocal translations of key metaphors and concepts and qualitative and quantitative comparative analyses to produce narrative and theoretical integrations. The major problem yet to be resolved is developing usable and communicable systematic approaches to conducting metasynthesis projects that maintain the integrity of individual studies. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Res Nurs Health 20: 365–371, 1997
This paper argues for the distinctiveness of management research and develops a perspective concerning management research policy. It argues that the key defining characteristic of management research is its applied nature, and that its central concern should be ‘the general (engineering) problem of design’. Because a key goal of management research is to improve the relationship between theory and practice, a fundamental concern lies with its diverse nature and the consequential difficulty of integration of sub-disciplines, as well as with the issue of the relevance and the application of findings. As a policy paper, it aims to introduce a limited number of analytical frameworks in order to develop a policy position, thus helping frame the debate concerning the role of management research. Specifically, it achieves this, first by exploring the ontology of management research, examining its form, features, peculiarities and idiosyncrasies using Becher's conceptual schema for exploring the nature of disciplines; second by identifying a requisite form of social organization to support management research activity using the Gibbons et al. taxonomy of knowledge production systems; and finally, by identifying some conclusions, research policy implications, and suggesting a set of policy propositions concerning the conduct of management research.
This paper argues that educational policy and practice has much to gain from systematic reviews and other methods of research synthesis. Different types of reviews are considered, including narrative reviews, vote-counting reviews, meta-analyses, best evidence synthesis, and meta-ethnography. It is argued that systematic reviews allow researchers, and users of research, to go beyond the limitations of single studies and to discover the consistencies and variability in seemingly similar studies. This, in turn, allows for some degree of cumulative knowledge of educational research that is often missing in the absence of systematic reviews. Some limitations of systematic reviews and research synthesis for educational policy and practice are also discussed. The work of the Campbell Collaboration as an international organisation that promotes the use of systematic reviews in educational policy and practice is outlined.
There is current concern that the researcher, or academic, and the practitioner wings of our discipline are moving further apart. This divergence is likely to result in irrelevant theory and in untheorized and invalid practice. Such outcomes will damage our reputation and ultimately result in our fragmentation. We present a simple 2 × 2 model along the dimensions of relevance and rigour, with the four cells occupied by Popularist, Pragmatic, Pedantic, and Puerile Science, respectively. We argue that there has been a drift away from Pragmatic Science, high in both relevance and rigour, towards Pedantic and Popularist Science, and through them to Puerile Science. We support this argument by longitudinal analyses of the authorship of academic journal articles and then explain this drift in terms of our stakeholders. Powerful academics are the most immediate stakeholders for researchers, and they exercise their power in such a way as to increase the drift towards Pedantic Science. Organizational clients are the most powerful stakeholders for practitioners, and in their effort to address their urgent issues, they push practitioners towards Popularist Science. In the light of this analysis, we argue that we need to engage in political activity in order to reduce or redirect the influence of the key stakeholders. This can be done either directly, through our relationship with them, or indirectly, through others who influence them. Only by political action can the centrifugal forces away from Pragmatic Science be countered and a centripetal direction be established. Finally, we explore the implications of our analysis for the future development of members of our own profession.